15 49.0138 8.38624 both 0 bullet 0 4000 1 0 horizontal https://www.messynessychic.com 300 4000

Category / How to start a subculture

Fake Chalets: Unmasking the Bunkers disguised as Quaint Swiss Villas

Traditional wood green shutters, lace curtains, Swiss chalet beams; all the makings of a quaint little villa in the woods. But strangely, the windowpanes don’t reflect the sunlight and on closer approach, the house looks impossibly narrow. Because this is no quaint Swiss chalet but rather a military bunker in disguise. Architectural fakery is one of…

Communist Dollhouses: Stasi Chic in Miniature

Cold War-era furnishings, kitschy wallpaper and fine examples of mid-century architecture from the German Democratic Republic, there’s a huge collection of “Soviet chic” German dollhouses on Flickr, hailing from the short-lived era when East Germany was under communist rule, for all your nostalgic Stasi needs… Browse the full collection here.

Hundreds of Awesome Vintage Sea Flags hidden away in a Museum

It’s amazing what secret treasures museums don’t display. Hidden away in the back rooms of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England are 1000’s of flags used to identify navy vessels and shipping lines throughout history. The museum is constrained by conservation and space resources but they’ve done a very good job of documenting most of them in an…

The Island of Royal Pubs

Throughout the Victoria era, Malta was a hive of expatriate activity. The British had arrived and made its naval base there and the royal family found it to be the perfect escape from English winters. To entertain themselves and make the cross-section of civilian society that descended on the Crown Colony more at home, they brought their home comforts…

Postcard from the Eiffel Tower, Paris (Russia)

The first thing I learned today, is that there’s a small village in Russia called Paris. With a current population of around 1700 people, the rural village was intentionally named after the French capital in the early 19th century when its founders returned from a victorious campaign against Napoleonic France. The second thing I learned is…

Mystery Flight to Paradise, 1950

It’s a summer Friday afternoon at the office and all you can think about is: “anywhere but here”! Really, anywhere? In that case, hop aboard the Mystery Flight with Capital Airlines circa 1950… You might end up in the Alps, you might find yourself sipping mojitos on the beach, so pack accordingly. This lady has the right…

The Cliff-hanging Castle at the Mouth of a Hidden Cave Network

Riddled with secret passageways and narrow shafts into the mountainous cave network of south Slovenia, Predjama Castle is what legends are made of. Built in the 11th century, it made a name for itself when a rebellious knight, a real-life Robin Hood of sorts, locked himself inside the fortress at the mouth of a cave for a year and…

Buy the “Walking Dead” Ghost Town, Just a Click away on eBay

I click on the eBay listing for the historic Downtown area of Grantville, Georgia. “Add to cart” for $680,000, a “unique opportunity” but “may not ship to France”. Crumbs. Anyone else interested? It’s not everyday you find 9 buildings on 40,000 square feet of a downtown historic district up for sale on eBay, but then again, the…

The American Theme Park Town that started as a Beer Stand in the Prohibition Aftermath

It’s highway Americana at its best and it all started in 1949 with a shocking-pink beer stand just south of the state border for the thirsty patrons of North Carolina where it was illegal to sell alcohol in its counties. Over the years, its grown from a lone beer stand into a fabulously kitsch 300…

Surfing in a Concrete Jungle: Munich’s Gnarly Subculture

Since the late 1960s, surfers have been gathering by the shallow banks of a small and cold river that flows through a local park in downtown Munich. A city better known for its beer drinking and pretzels has become the unlikely home of a surfing mecca for urban individualists riding a river wave far from the ocean……

NEWER POSTS 1 … 42 43 44 … 49 OLDER POSTS